A/N: Just a little extra twist to the ending of the movie "What Dreams May Come".
Know Not Whence What Names May Come
"How will I find you?" Annie Nielsen asked her husband Chris. Deciding for both to be reborn for another lifetime was hard enough and was not only exciting but scary at the same time. She wanted to be sure that she would share it again with the man she loved and was taken from her too soon the first time. Having reached heaven finally, she didn't want to live a life without him again.
"I found you in Hell; you don't think I could find you in Jersey?" he assured her. He had risked an assured eternity in heaven to rescue her from her self-imposed hell. They kissed reassuringly and Annie disappeared.
Chris took one last look around as his son Ian appeared again beside him. "It's so beautiful, more than anything I can remember back while I was still alive. I'm going to miss it" the older man sighed. The colors, the sounds, the smells - there was just more of whatever something had on Earth and a normal life was going to seem comparatively dull.
"If it is more beautiful, it's because you've created it on the inside first; but you're not going to miss it. You won't have any memory of this place until you return, then your experiences from two lifetimes will be joined and you'll remember everything. We'll be here waiting for you."
"Annie, you, Marie, Katie all waiting" Chris said laughing, thinking of his daughter and beloved dog. "I can't wait to get back. I suppose all this will be waiting for me too" he said, sweeping his hand across the horizon to take in the pond, trees and lush grass where he was standing.
"Oh yes, and so will they" Ian said, pointing to a group of ducks that were waddling toward them in the grass. Unlike real ducks, they were all colors of the rainbow and of sizes from a few inches to almost four feet tall. All quacked and wiggled their tails as they approached.
Chris grinned from ear to ear as the birds got closer. He listened to their raucous choir, but as he listened it changed subtly and almost sounded like "Quack...quack...duack...dack...dad...dad..."
"It sounds like they're saying 'Dad' to me" he said in an aside to Ian.
"They are" his son admitted.
"What?"
The nearest duck, and the biggest, starting talking. "Hi dad, bet you didn't expect to see us here did you?"
Dumbfounded in a place where so much had already shocked him, Chris took a moment to respond. "Did I have you for dinner one time and now I'm back in Hell again?" he asked.
The duck starting quacking, which morphed into a laugh as the bird transformed into a tall young man guffawing. "That's dad for you." The other ducks laughed as well as they transformed into children of all ages and races, some just grinning while others howled with glee.
"I don't understand" Chris mumbled.
"You're not supposed to...yet" Ian explained. "In Heaven, time...is kind of a funny thing with the past, present and future coming together in unexpected ways. It's the hereafter, but sometimes the herebefore and herenow too. These are your children from your next life."
Chris looked over the crowd. "Wow, I must have had a harem. How many wives do I have? I mean will I have...did have?"
Ian laughed. "Just the one, you still get married to Mom. But these are the orphans you and her raise together."
"Orphans? Where?"
"Now that would be telling" the largest duck/young man spoke again. "But I will tell you my name is Monroe and I'm the first child you and Mom ever adopt. You picked me because I had the same name as a famous ship, but you won't remember meeting me here until you get back, Dad. Trust me, it will all make sense then."
Monroe and the rest of the children faded, then Ian, and finally Chris disappeared from the spot alongside the water where he was standing.
...
A young boy was sailing his toy boat in the water. It rode the small waves well until it was crashed into by another toy boat, after which the boy's boat sank. The owner of the other boat, a young girl, laughed. The boy was dour at first, but finally broke into a smile at the humor of the situation as his boat bobbed almost entirely below the surface.
As a show of good sportsmanship they exchanged their lunch sandwiches. The girl said her boat was named the Discovery.
"Mine is named the Monroe. WAS named that, I mean" the boy said.
"That's a funny name for a boat."
"Maybe, but I just like the name for some reason. Want to be friends?"
The End
A/N: An absolutely beautifully shot movie, and of course a story of a love that spanned life, death, and life again. I didn't see the alternate ending until later (which more closely followed the book from what I understand) but this is based on the original movie ending most people saw.